LGBTQ news and entertainment
Sen. Kamala Harris releases her plan for LGBTQ+ equality
Today, I introduced a plan to ensure everyone in the LGBTQ+ community is able to live proudly and openly, without fear of discrimination. We can restore equality and dignity in the White House. https://t.co/tS2YM46az7
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 10, 2019
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will not be attending the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s LGBTQ Town Hall on Thursday night after all. This comes after skipping the GLAAD/Advocate sponsored LGBTQ Forum in Iowa last month. Initially, his campaign indicated that he had scheduling conflicts for both dates and couldn’t attend. But after several in the LGBTQ media made note that he was the only top tier presidential candidate to not appear at either event, schedules were somehow rearranged and he was set to take part in the October 10 event in Los Angeles. The town hall is the only LGBTQ-centric event in the Democratic primary season that will be televised by a major news outlet, CNN. However, the 78-year-old senator then suffered a heart attack on the campaign trail and was hospitalized for days as doctors inserted two stents to address a blocked artery.
I want to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff at the Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center for the excellent care that they provided. After two and a half days in the hospital, I feel great, and after taking a short time off, I look forward to getting back to work. pic.twitter.com/HjBc9LPjo4
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 4, 2019
Make sure to tune in for the HRC Foundation’s LGBTQ Town Hall on CNN Thursday, October 10 at 7 p.m.
Out singer/songwriter Parker Matthews drops his latest track, an upbeat synth-pop banger titled, “Live For Your Crazy.” The track features an infectious vocal hook and polished, top-shelf production. Effortless and euphoric, it’s a breezy end-of-summer bop. In the video, directed by Nicolas Wendl, Matthews envisions sexy Mother Nature coming to save him from the sweltering desert heat. I chatted with the rising pop star about the new song, sweaty desert realness, and what’s on the horizon for him. 
The Randy Report: Your last music video, “Good Enough,” was set in a dark theater, serving up a melancholy Parker in ‘leading man’ mode. In “Live For Your Crazy,” it’s a complete 180 taking us out into the middle of nature, busting moves right and left, and chilling in a grove of palm trees. Where did the inspiration for the video come from?
Parker Matthews: I wanted to show the next step in my evolution on this journey both as an artist and as a person. In the beginning of this video, I let go of the rose petals I was holding on to from the darker place of Good Enough, and symbolically, set out to find my own way.
My whole life, women have saved me, in various ways, and I wanted to depict that by having a Mother Earth figure as my saving grace. Between everything currently going on with climate change, and the destruction of our planet, I wanted to show the beauty of nature by actually going on location and in some ways, how delicate it can actually be.
The locations that we shot this video on have never been filmed on, nor will they be filmed on again. My team and I partnered up with CNLM, a non-profit organization that focuses on protecting endangered species and plants, was gracious enough to allow us to captivate such epic visuals. It was a 16 hour day, in 118-degree heat, but with their help, we were able to film something amazing.
PM: There are so many things I’ve learned since getting into this game, but I think one of the biggest things has been learning to always be my unapologetic self, no matter how ‘uncool’ that might be. Standing up for my own vision, and surrounding myself with a team that believes in me is what truly makes the difference. I can confidently say that I’ve found myself, and now, its full speed ahead. I have my team locked down, and as for new music… I have a lot to say 😉
TRR: You’ve been turning out really terrific tracks for some time now. What’s the ’next step’ career goal?
PM: I have one more record for you this year, and then I’m taking some time to record my first EP. I have most of the songs already written, and I have a title, that you’ll find out about all in good time J
By having a bunch of singles that took listeners around the ‘map’, I showed my versatility and malleability, but I want to have this EP to really focus on the artist that I am, what I stand for, along with my overall brand. (You can expect that around the end of March).
TRR: Random question: Name three artists you wouldn’t mind being compared to?
PM: I don’t really compare myself to anyone, because I am me. I write my own records, and I create my own visual ideas, but if I had to choose other artists, I’d pick ones with like-minded values, and would honestly all be women. Lady GaGa, Christina Aguilera, and Julia Michaels all have a spot in my heart. Being real is what stands out the most to me, and that’s where I give the utmost respect J
For more info on the handsome Mr. Matthews, check out my previous coverage of his music here. “Live For Your Crazy” is now available on all digital download sites. Check out a few peeks behind-the-scenes of the making of “Live For Your Crazy” via Parker’s Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B1PguG1lHTP/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B1K-c8hFeVT/
|
| Kendall Brown (L) and Mindy Rackley (R) |
A same-sex couple in Missouri were surprised when the restaurant they had booked for their wedding rehearsal dinner cancelled the reservation upon learning their sexual orientation.
Kendall Brown and Mindy Rackley are getting married on June 15, and had planned on holding their rehearsal dinner on June 13 at Madison’s Café.
Newsweek reports that the couple chose the restaurant because it had been Rackley’s father’s favorite place to dine before he passed away two-and-a-half years ago. Holding the dinner there prior to their union was meant as a way to honor his memory.
Brown’s mother made the reservation on Monday evening, but the next day Brown received a call from the cafe asking for more information.
“Her first question was, ‘what is your groom’s name?’” explained Brown. “I said, ‘I’m marrying a woman actually and her name is Mindy.’”
From the other end of the call came the question: “Your spouse is another woman?”
Brown told the woman ‘yes.’
And with that, the woman at the restaurant told Brown, “We’re gonna have to refer you to someone else for your dinner because we don’t condone that kind of relationship.”
“Out of love for you, we’re going to have to decline your business because we believe you’re in an unhealthy relationship,” added the woman.
Brown immediately called her fiancée in tears.
Rackley told Newsweek the conversation “saddened” her.
“I just can’t believe that this is still happening and that we get treated differently because of who we love,” she said. “Who we love doesn’t change who we are and, I don’t know, it just saddens me.”
Note: Missouri does not prohibit discrimination in public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It’s legal to discriminate against LGBTQ people in the Show Me state.
Local news station KMOV reached out to Madison’s Café for their side of the story.
According to the news station, “A woman at the restaurant acknowledged the couple’s situation but did not want to comment.”
 |
| KMOV reports in front of Madison’s Cafe (screen capture) |
After their story went viral on social media, several local restaurants reached out, and the couple has booked another establishment for their dinner.
Brown told Newsweek she understands that the owner’s of Madison’s Café are entitled to their beliefs, but they shared their story on social media because they want other people to be “aware so that they don’t have to feel the way we felt.”
“In this day and age, this is just not okay,” she added.
The government of Lebanon has apparently ordered the gay dating app Grindr blocked for most users in the Arab country.
The Independent reports the Arab nation’s state-owned internet service provider, Ogero, blocked access to the app on the orders of the public prosecutor’s office, and that all internet providers will soon follow suit.
No explanation has been given for the ban, but the court order responsible for the action specifically stated that the app “secures romantic sexual liaisons for homosexuals and bisexuals.”
A similar ban of the app occurred in January, but that was short-lived as access was restored. At the time, the government denied any involvement.
Tarek Zeidan, executive director of Helem, one of the oldest LGBTQ advocacy groups in the region, explains the absence of public spaces for gays to openly meet underscores the importance of the dating app for Lebanese LGBTQs.
“Digital forms of communication like Grindr break the isolation that members of the community feel as many still live with family,” he told The Independent.
“Grindr has also become an effective way to disseminate life-saving information on sexual health and safety – this move will set these efforts back significantly, especially when it comes to contacting difficult-to-reach populations such as individuals living in rural areas, closeted or discreet individuals, and refugees which constitute a sizeable portion of the community,” he added.
Even though Lebanon has been traditionally viewed as one of the more liberal countries in the Middle East in regard to LGBTQ rights, some activists believe this is just the beginning of a series of attacks on the community.
Georges Azzi, executive director of the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality, told The Independent, “This is not an independent incident, this is part of a bigger campaign and strategy to limit the spaces of the LGBT community.”
“The groups behind this campaign operate in an atmosphere where the government and security apparatuses are encouraging attacks on freedom of expression,” added Azzi. “We are being controlled by medieval forces.”
Some activists are advising users to use VPN service to bypass the ban.
Recent news reports show a mixed bag when it comes to LGBTQ rights and status.
Last year, judges ruled Article 534 of Lebanon’s penal code could not be applied to consensual sex between adults of the same sex. The early 20th century law had been used to persecute gays calling for punishment for “any sexual intercourse contrary to the order of nature.”
But last October, authorities raided an LGBTQ conference, and in May 2018 police arrested the organizer of Beirut Pride which resulted in the event being cancelled.
Lebanon joins Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on the list of Middle East countries that ban Grindr.
|
| Roseanne Barr muses on the word ‘fag’ in her car |
Roseanne Barr took to her YouTube channel to share some odd musings on the use of the word ‘fag,’ and how she herself put the ‘Q’ in LGBTQ.
The comedienne began in a pensive mood, complaining about the use of the ‘F’ word.
“Man, the word ‘fag’ is a really hateful word, isn’t it?,” begins the comedian while apparently sitting in her car. “Especially when it’s when it’s like one gay calling another gay guy that? Hoo! Have you ever been in the middle of one of them hate marriages? Hoo! It’s like, wait a minute, we’re not supposed to say that word. How come you’resaying that word? What?”
She then complains that while some members of the LGBTQ community use the word, she as a straight woman is not allowed to use the slur.
“Oh, Ijust can’t say that word,” she says. “Well, I can when I’m in the house, but I can’t say it outside the house. Okay, I get your rules.”
“But it is a hateful word and we should get rid of it,” she decides, but then clarifies, “Get rid of it being spoken.”
Ok, so folks should stop saying the word but they can write it? No. Paint it on a wall? No.
The 66-year-old then appears to take partial ownership of the slur by declaring she, herself, is ‘queer.’
“All that LGBTQ stuff, let me just be real, I put the Q in the LGBTQ,” announces the dethroned sitcom queen. “Okay, because I am queer as two motherf**kers.”
Now, we’re off in the underbrush on the way to Poughkeepsie, but we gotta see where this goes, right?
“I’m queer, I’m alien, I don’t belong here with all these people,” she adds although it appears she’s alone, but, you know. “They makes no sense. Theyare very queer.”
“That makes me queer, I guess,” she declares in summation as she starts her car. “But I did put the Q in it. Bye!”
And, exit stage right.
In this week’s podcast:
• Mayor Pete Buttigieg continues moving up in the polls among Democratic presidential contenders
• ‘Totally-not-gay’ former congressman Aaron Schock photographed hanging with the gays at Coachella
• Converse offers new Pride sneakers in gay pride rainbow themes and transgender pink/blue/white themes – Click here to check them out
• Three LGBTQ cult classic movies – Jeffrey, Can’t Stop The Music and To Wong Foo – get the Blu-Ray treatment in time for Pride with lots of bonus features
• And Harry’s shave company goes transgender inclusive with its latest ad spot
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report.
|
| (screen capture) |
Harry’s shaving company just released a new ad that causally includes a transgender man in the spot with narration that tells them, “You can shave to feel like you.”
The one-minute spot by the men’s grooming brand, titled ‘Shave, or Don’t,’ makes it clear Harry’s has your back whether you shave or not.
The narration reads:
“Back in the day, men couldn’t always shave. Back in another day, men had to shave. Somewhere in between is a very nice thing: a choice. Now you can shave just a little. You can shave a lot. You can shave to stand out. You can shave to blend in. You can shave when you have a second. You can shave to save a few seconds. You can shave to feel like you. You can shave to feel like another you. You can shave because you’re finally, finally home. Or you can shave – maybe later.”
You’ll notice the “You can shave to feel like you” line falls on the shot of a trans man about to shave.
The comments on the YouTube page are overwhelmingly positive:
“Thank you for including a trans man in your commercial Harry’s will be switching over to support your business.”
“I got chills when I saw the trans guy thanks, highly doubt the company will see this but I recommend added woman because girls shave too.”
“Why did I get teary? Classic me Hahaha… *sobs* Thanks for including the LGBT community.”
Last year, the shaving giant announced their Shave with Pride campaign celebrating Pride Month.
“Harry’s has a proud history of working with organizations that help challenge out-dated stereotypes and who aim to shift attitudes and behaviors that devalue marginalized groups,” said Harry’s co-founder Jeff Raider.
“Our support for Pride is a natural extension of that. As a company, we embrace individuality and celebrate diversity, so we’re extremely proud to be an LGBTQ+ ally.”
The men’s grooming brand also produced an acclaimed three-minute short film on the meaning of ‘masculinity’ featuring a young boy explaining how to be a man to an alien.
|
| (photo: 24x7photo.com/Flickr – CC license) |
LGBTQ activists in Israel are angry after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his residence Sunday where he reportedly told them he could not promise to promote LGBTQ equality after the upcoming elections on Tuesday.
It was Netanyahu’s first meeting with LGBTQ leaders in ten years.
According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu said “opposition from religious and ultra-Orthodox parties blocked him from meeting their demands.”
In a statement from the group following the meeting, the representatives said, “The prime minister refused to commit himself to promoting equality of rights as a condition for the establishment of the coalition and expressed concern about the opposition of the religious factions in any coalition that will be established.”
Netanyahu meets with LGBT leaders for first time in 10 years https://t.co/DHJtkkD4Mp— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) April 7, 2019
With the final polls showing Netanyahu’s Likud party neck and neck with his opponent’s Blue and White party, some political pundits say the Prime Minister took the meeting for the photo op knowing he wouldn’t act on behalf of Israel’s LGBTQ community.
With that in mind, it’s no wonder the estimated 500,000 LGBTQ voters in Israel aren’t leaning in Netanyahu’s direction.
A recent poll showed only 6% of LGBTQ voters in Israel plan to cast their ballot for Likud, in the upcoming election on April 9, while 31% say they favor the Blue and White party.
LGBTQ leaders in Israel are concerned as anti-gay rhetoric has grown more intense in recent years.
In February, the Association for LGBTQ Equality sent a report to Israel’s President Rivlin which documented a 54% jump from 2017 to 2018 in homophobic incidents.
|
| (image via Depositphotos) |
Another day, another wedding vendor refusing to serve same-sex couples.
This time, it’s Star Barn Village, located near Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.
Steven Dinnocenti, a retired educator who has attended Star Barn events in the past, recently shared on his social mediahis outrage upon discovering the venue has a ‘no same-gender weddings’ policy.
“Never again will I step on (their) grounds,” wrote the openly gay married man.
“What one does not know is the blatant discrimination they have towards the LGBTQ community and other individuals that they have written in their Core Values statement,” added Dinnocenti.
He also posted a link to Star Barn’s ‘Core Values’ statement which reads, in part, “We provide marriage-related services as ordained by God’s Word, the Holy Bible, that are consistent with the written truth that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.”
At this writing, Dinnocenti’s Facebook post has been shared over 360 times and garnered over 560 comments.
PennLive spoke with the owner of the venue, David Abel, who says he “does not tolerate discrimination against anyone, not in his business or in a public setting.”
“No persons will be discriminated against,” he insisted to PennLive. “However, we ask people to respect that we have core tenants in our faith and our beliefs and we cannot participate in any event that would be in contradiction to those core tenants – one of them being marriage, which has been biblically based for thousands of years as being between a man and a woman.”
He also asserts that religious freedoms are one of the principles under which the United States was founded. “It was also founded as one nation under God not over God,” he said.
 |
| (photo via Depositphotos) |
It’s important to note that Pennsylvania does not have any LGBTQ protections on the books. So, it would seem Mr. Abel is legally allowed to discriminate against same-sex couples.
This highlights, yet again, the need for The Equality Act to be passed in Congress and signed into law. The federal legislation would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and erase any confusion about refusing services to people based only on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
For now, however, PennLive does point out that another wedding venue, Riverdale Manor and Thyme and Seasons Catering in nearby Lancaster, has seen its same-sex wedding business thrive since marriage equality became the law of the land in 2015.
Maureen Raezer, owner and president of the venue, told PennLive she subscribes to “the principles of inclusive economics.”
In fact, Raezer says she’s stopped doing business with vendors who don’t appreciate her inclusive wedding industry approach.
“I think they see it as they are somehow condoning gay marriage by participating in it,” Raezer said. “I‘m not sure how selling somebody a wedding cake does that. If I sold cookies to someone, why would I care what their sexual orientation was?”
She also believes that diversity is the future of economics. For her, a business model of excluding people “financially makes no sense.”